Putting in the Miles

Springtime means longer rides as the weather warms up. My fitness wanes in the winter because it is harder to do long or hilly rides in the cold and dark of winter. This past winter my mileage count was pretty low so now I'm trying to put in the miles to start building a base for this season. 

The weather has made getting out a bit harder this year. We have had a lot of rain on the weekends and on my Wednesdays off. However I did get two good rides in this week. This past Wednesday was a raw cloudy day in the mid 40s but there was not much wind and no rain in the forecast so I did a 34 mile ride from home to the roads around the Manasquan Reservoir. The route has about 1000 ft of climbing. There are no real hills but some rollers to test out my climbing legs a little. This raw weather made the ride less enjoyable than normal but these are the rides you have to do to try and get in shape for the season. I came in at a decent pace, faster than I did a few weeks ago so I am happy I'm getting better.

This past Saturday the hilly ride that was on the PFW calendar was beyond my current ability so I did my own ride and invited Jim and Jack to come along. It was a windy day in the mid 50s. My goal for the day was to do at least 40 miles. I put a route together that started in Etra Park to Jamesburg and back. I wanted to do a more north-south route since the wind was mostly coming from the west. The first few miles were tough as we headed directly into the wind for the first 7 miles or so. After that it wasn't too bad as we made our way through Plainsoro and on towards Dayton. 

On Riva Rd I changed the route to go a little farther along the river. This also put us on better roads to go through Hemetta an on to Jamesburg. In Jamesburg we stopped at a coffee shop for a break and then headed back. We went through Thomson Park which has one short but steep little hill through the park to up to the main road to head back to Etra. My legs were tired at the end of the ride but I was able to do a 43 mile ride at a decent pace. I still need to put a lot more miles in to be back to full strength but am improving which is all the matters. 

I Feel Good

Spring is only a couple of days away which means an increase in my rides and miles. I do try to ride as much as I can in winter but it was a cold and rainy winter and I had some health issues that prevented me from doing long rides. I never know how my fitness fared over the winter until I get out and do some longer rides with my posse. 

This Saturday I decided to lead a ride. I only wanted to do around 35 miles but some in the group wanted a few more. Over the winter there were a couple of rides that had cutoffs so those who were not up for the full ride could bail early but still do most of the ride with the group. I liked this option so I created two routes for Saturday one that left from Allentown and another that left from Bordentown. The people that wanted more miles left from Allentown and met me and a few others in Bordentown.  I then lead a ride to Robling and back. Since I did not have a lot of miles this year I was concerned about the pace but I felt good and didn't feel like I had to push myself to keep up. 

We stopped at the Jacksonville Deli which strangely enough is not in or remotely close to Jacksonville (it's actually in Fieldsboro). It's a really crappy rest stop as Eric pointed out as he ate his "staler than shit" donuts but there aren't many other places to stop on this route. 

It was a good sunny day with temperatures close to 60 degrees and a gentle tail wind part of the way. At the end of the ride I had 36 miles and felt as I could have done a few more. I was concerned that my lack of miles this winter would make it harder to get back to my normal miles and speed but after the way I felt today I think I should be able to get back to my normal 40-50 miles rides quicker than I thought.

Winter is Ending

Some where in the middle to end of February I really become sick of winter. I do explore some different areas and do some different activities in the winter so it can be a nice change of pace. The landscape can have a certain desolation to it that is beautiful and interesting in its own way. Take this picture of a pond in Allaire with the leafless trees against the winter sky for example.

 

However winter is cold. I have to wear so many layers that it is hard move. Although I can stay warm while riding there are always parts that are sweating and other parts that are cold so rides have to be shorter. It's just not as fun to ride in the winter.

This winter has been a little colder and rainier than normal which has made it even harder to get out for a ride. Today however was a beautiful day. It was mid 50s when I started a ride out of Allentown with Jack, Bob, and Ricky. We did a relatively flat 30 miles as I try build my mileage for the year. The pace was faster than I have done for few months and I still felt good at the end of the ride. I hope I can continue rides like this to improve my fitness. We just need the winter to end so we will have more warm and sunny days like today.